


Girls' Night

by MirrorMystic



Series: Secret Keepers [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
Genre: Baby Bis have a sleepover, F/F, Fluff, Pre-Canon, Ram Kids, Secret Keeper AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 12:29:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20778593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorMystic/pseuds/MirrorMystic
Summary: "Hey," Celica whispered. "Can you keep a secret?"





	Girls' Night

**Author's Note:**

> Be sure to check out the sort-of-sequel to this fic in "Counting the Days"!
> 
> Find me on Twitter at @mystic_writes!
> 
> Do you have stories to be told, but need help with the telling? Send me an email at nathaneraya@yahoo.com!

~*~  
  
“Wow,” Celica murmured with bright-eyed awe. “Is it real?”  
  
“Of course it’s real,” Faye said proudly. “My parents caught it themselves.”  
  
Celica was laying on her stomach, her chin propped up on her hands. Before her, Faye’s authentic bearskin rug was similarly splayed out on the floor, its eyes closed as if asleep. Gingerly, Celica reached forward and poked it in the nose. She snatched her hand away as if it might wake up, astonished when it didn’t.   
  
“Wow,” Celica echoed. “That’s so cool!”  
  
“My folks don’t just do furs, either,” Faye grinned.   
  
She pushed herself up off her elbows and scurried off into the kitchen. She returned with a jar filled with a thick green herbal paste.   
  
“My Nana makes little home remedies for all sorts of stuff,” Faye said. “She can cure colds, fevers, sprained ankles, just with plants! Here, check this out.”  
  
Faye dipped a finger into the paste and dabbed it on Celica’s nose. Celica blinked.   
  
“What is it?” she wondered.   
  
“‘Anti-aging cream’,” Faye explained. “It’s supposed to reduce wrinkles and signs of aging!”  
  
Celica glanced up to Faye’s Nana dozing off on the couch above them, and her crinkled, weather-worn skin.   
  
“Does it… work?”  
  
Faye gave Celica an indignant shove. “No, dummy, I made it up. Why, did you want to try it?”  
  
“Why would we try it? We’re _ten_,” Celica laughed, wiping the dab of herbal paste from her nose.  
  
“Excuse me, _you’re_ ten. _I’m_ almost _eleven_,” Faye declared proudly.   
  
“I’m still taller than you,” Celica teased. Faye shoved her again.   
  
Celica laughed, smiling. There was just something about that goofy, gap-toothed smile that just became so warm in the evening lamplight, so warm it gave Faye a funny feeling in her chest.   
  
“...Should we go to bed? Nana’s already asleep,” Faye mused.   
  
“I’m not tired,” Celica shrugged. “Are you?”  
  
“Not really,” Faye said. “What do you want to do?”  
  
“I kind of want to-- no, nevermind,” Celica said, catching herself.   
  
“What?”  
  
“It’s dumb.”  
  
“It’s not dumb. What?”  
  
Celica smiled, sheepish. “Can I… brush your hair?”  
  
Faye blinked. “Um. Sure.”  
  
Faye retrieved her hairbrush and handed it to Celica, before plopping down on the bearskin rug. Celica sat behind her and began running the brush through her wild, tangled blonde mane. For a long moment, Faye savored the feeling of the brush through her hair, of Celica’s hand lingering near her neck. It was… nice. At least, until the brush hit a snag, Celica snorted, and warmth flashed across Faye’s cheeks.   
  
“You’re making fun of me,” Faye warned.   
  
“No, I’m not,” Celica said, stifling snickers.   
  
“Are you sure?” Faye glanced over her shoulder. Her brush remained stuck in her hair. Celica clapped her hands over her mouth, beset with another giggle fit.   
  
“Making fun of me!” Faye fumed. She reached up, trying to dislodge her hairbrush, to no avail. She groaned. “Is that why you wanted to do this? Because my hair was a mess and clearly I wasn’t going to take care of it myself?”  
  
“No, no!” Celica urged. She caught Faye’s hand before she could just yank her brush through the knot in her hair, and gently eased her brush through the snarl. “Your hair’s so pretty, Faye. I want to grow mine out like yours someday.”  
  
Faye sighed, and relented. “Fine.”  
  
They spent a moment together, in an almost companionable silence. Almost, because there was still something lingering in the shadows between them. Celica grew somber.   
  
“Thanks for inviting me over, by the way,” she began. “I think this is the first time we’ve ever really been together, just the two of us.”  
  
“Oh.” Faye coughed. “Yeah.”  
  
Celica frowned, and set the hairbrush aside. “Faye, are you mad at me?”  
  
“It’s just hair, Celica. It’s not a big deal.”  
  
“No, I mean…” Celica took a deep breath. “...Are you mad at me?”  
  
Faye blinked, taken aback. She glanced over her shoulder. “Where is this coming from?”  
  
Celica fidgeted. “I-- I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. And, I don’t know, lately you’ve been acting kind of weird…”  
  
“How would you know how I act? You’ve only been here for a month,” Faye snapped.   
  
“See? You’re mad at me!”  
  
“I’m not--” Faye blew out a breath. “I’m not mad. It’s just… complicated.”  
  
Celica nodded, thoughtful. “Is this about Alm?”  
  
Faye whirled around, flustered. “Why, did Gray say something?! Ugh, that dummy can’t keep his mouth shut! Next time I see him, I’m gonna thump him right on his dumb head!”  
  
“No, no, it wasn’t Gray,” Celica said. “It was… just a feeling. I’m sorry. I know how you feel about him.”  
  
Faye slumped her shoulders. She blew out a long, weary sigh.   
  
“Celica, _I_ don’t even know how I feel about him. I told you. It’s complicated.”   
  
And it was. Faye wasn’t sure if ‘jealousy’ was the right word for this feeling, or even who, exactly, she was jealous of. The answer to that question, and its implications, were things she wouldn’t come to terms with for several years. But for now, all she knew was that she didn’t want to be mad at Celica, or Alm, or anybody, so she took that feeling and shoved it down deep.   
  
“I’m sorry,” Celica murmured, her voice suddenly very small. “I was worried you wouldn’t want to be friends.”  
  
“Whoa. Hey,” Faye said gently. She opened her arms in invitation, and pulled Celica into a hug. “Forget my weird feelings. We’re friends, Celica. No matter what.”  
  
Celica held Faye close, smiling into her shoulder. “I’m glad. I remember, when Grandpa first brought me here, I was so happy to see you. I was worried that I was going to be the only girl in town.”  
  
Faye blew out a breath. “Yeah. Well. Sometimes that’s how it feels.”  
  
“What do you mean?” Celica looked up at Faye, her eyes dark with concern.   
  
Faye fidgeted. “Never mind. It’s dumb.”  
  
“It’s _not_ dumb,” Celica urged. Faye sighed.   
  
“Alright, well… ever since you moved here, the boys have been… weird,” Faye muttered, looking at the floor. “You know. Because you’re a girl.”  
  
“They’re just being dumb,” Celica shrugged. “They’re boys.”  
  
“Yeah,” Faye nodded. “But before you came around, I was a kid just like them. Now that you’re here… I’m a _girl_. And you’re a better one.”  
  
Celica stared at her. “Don’t say that, Faye.”  
  
“Why not? It’s true,” Faye grumbled. “You’re so nice, and proper, and ladylike, and the grown-ups get impressed because you use big words. Me, I’m just loud, and pushy, and I always come home with twigs in my hair, and I don’t even know how to braid it.”  
  
“Faye, I _love_ those things about you!” Celica insisted. “Come on, Faye. So what if I’m a little more feminine? So what if I take better care of my hair?”  
  
“Hey…” Faye warned.  
  
“Hey, you said it first,” Celica smiled. “The point is, Faye, I admire you! You’re so tough, and strong, and you’re not afraid to get dirty. I wish I could be more like _you_.”  
  
Faye blinked, puzzled. “What’s stopping you?”  
  
Celica looked like she was about to say something, but stopped short with a grimace. She retrieved Faye’s fallen hairbrush and returned to the task of taming her tangled mane without a word. Faye fixed her eyes forward, a frown creeping across her lips.   
  
“Do you really not know how to braid your hair?” she asked, dodging her discomfort.   
  
“No,” Faye admitted. “I never learned. I just wear it out all the time, that’s why it gets so tangled.”  
  
“It’s easy,” Celica explained. “You just separate your hair into three parts, right? And then you just kinda… do it like this.”  
  
“Like how, Celica? I can’t see what you’re doing.”  
  
Celica blinked. “Oh. Right. Well, maybe I can show you later, with something that isn’t your own hair.”  
  
They spent a while together in that melancholy quiet. Celica tucked her finished braid over Faye’s shoulder to show off her handiwork. Faye ran her fingers down her hair, her eyes lighting up when she saw Celica had used her own dusky ribbon, the color of sunset, to tie off her braid. There was that funny feeling in her chest again. But it was spoiled by the troubled expression that lingered on Celica’s face.   
  
“Celica, what’s wrong?” Faye asked gently. “You can tell me. We’re friends, right?”  
  
“Yeah. Of course,” Celica nodded. “But… “  
  
Celica sighed. After a long moment, she nodded to herself, as if she’d finally figured it out.   
  
“Hey,” Celica whispered. “Can you keep a secret?”  
  
“Yeah. Sure,” Faye nodded.   
  
Celica took a deep breath, and let it out slow.   
  
“...I’m the Princess of Zofia.”  
  
Faye blinked, and cracked a grin.   
  
“Sure, and I’m the Empress of Rigel,” Faye teased, snickering. But Celica met her eyes without flinching, and slowly, slowly the laughter and the teasing smile faded from Faye’s face, until it finally sank in that Celica wasn’t joking at all.   
  
Faye blinked once, twice, a strange feeling welling up in her throat.   
  
Celica clapped a hand over Faye’s mouth right before she squealed in surprise.   
  
“You’re a princess!” Faye cried, muffled. “No wonder you’re so, I don’t know, ladylike!”  
  
“I know, I know!” Celica hissed. “But keep it down, okay?”  
  
“Have you _told_ anyone?!” Faye gasped, wide-eyed.   
  
“No. Just you,” Celica admitted. “And you can’t tell anyone either. There are bad people looking for me, and they can’t know I’m here. This has to stay between us, okay? Promise me.”  
  
“Wow,” Faye breathed. “This is…”  
  
“_Promise_ me, Faye.”  
  
Celica raised her hand, pinky out. Faye nodded, linking their little fingers together.   
  
“I promise,” Faye murmured, breathless. “_Mother_ _Mila_, Celica, this is… this is amazing! Forget teaching me how to braid my hair! Tell me about being a princess! Tell me everything!”  
  
“Don’t worry, I will,” Celica laughed. “I don’t think either of us were planning on getting much sleep tonight.”  
  
~*~  
  
“Hey, guys,” Gray waved, sporting his usual carefree grin. “Tobe was thinking about us hanging out at the river today, and I was thinking I’d run over there before he did to grab the first swim. You in?”  
  
“Sorry, Gray,” Faye smiled, playful. “Celica and I are having some girl time. No boys allowed.”  
  
“Wow. When did you two get so chummy?” Gray teased.   
  
“You go on ahead. We’ll catch up with you,” Celica laughed.   
  
“Your loss,” Gray shrugged. “Later, Celica! See ya, punk.”  
  
“Bite me!” Faye said sweetly. Gray grinned, and hurried off. She turned, meeting Celica’s gaze with a knowing smile. After all, they knew exactly why they were now so close-- and how it happened practically overnight.   
  
Faye’s grin abruptly faltered as her in-progress flower crown unraveled in her hands. She gave an indignant squeak, retrieving the fallen flowers.   
  
“...I think I’m doing this wrong,” Faye muttered, twining flower stems together.   
  
“Here. Like this,” Celica demonstrated, carefully twisting three stems together. The braid held for a moment, before unraveling. Celica and Faye blankly stared at the fallen flowers.   
  
“Well,” Celica smiled, sheepish. “It’s easier with hair.”  
  
Celica renewed her efforts, eager to finish this flower crown before the sun got too high. While Celica kept at it, clearly more adept than Faye’s slow, plodding efforts, Faye set aside her own unfinished braid and reached into a pouch on her belt.   
  
“Hey, Celica?”  
  
“What’s up?”  
  
Faye smiled. “I have something for you.”  
  
Faye lifted her gift to the light, before looping it around Celica’s neck-- a pendant, a little broken piece of arrow haft and tufts of fletching, looped onto a thin leather cord.   
  
“My family fletches all their own arrows,” Faye explained, warmth in her cheeks. “I, uh. I’m not very good at it yet. It’s the fletching that helps an arrow fly straight, you know. And if an arrow’s not fletched right, it might not fly straight. It might even turn right around.”  
  
Faye shrugged, growing more embarrassed by the moment.   
  
“...I thought it’d be… symbolic, I guess? If something ever happens, and you have to leave, maybe, if you wear that… maybe you’ll come back?”  
  
Faye squirmed, blushing. Celica wrapped her in a hug.   
  
“Oh, Faye…” Celica cooed. “It’s perfect. I love it.”  
  
“You gave me your ribbon. It’s only fair,” Faye murmured, bashful.  
  
“Well, now for the finishing touch,” Celica said. She presented her completed flower crown with a flourish, and gently nestled it in Faye’s honey-yellow hair.   
  
“Look at you,” Celica beamed. “You’re so pretty, Faye.”   
  
There was that funny feeling again. Faye tugged at her collar.   
  
“Celica. Can you keep a secret?”  
  
“Of course,” Celica cooed.   
  
“I think you’re really pretty, too.”  
  
Their hands found each other on the grass, their little fingers linked in a promise. Warmth lingered in their chests, across their cheeks, and maybe it was that feeling Faye didn’t know the word for yet, or maybe it was just Zofia’s languid summer sun, and somewhere in the woods their friends were waiting to take a swim.   
  
~*~


End file.
